ollowing 1000, peace and
order grew. As a result, peasants began to expand their
farms and villages further into the countryside. The
earliest merchants were peddlers who went from village to village
selling their goods. As the demand for goods
increased--particularly for the gems, silks, and other
luxuries from Genoa and Venice, the ports of Italy that
traded with the East--the peddlers became more familiar
with complex issues of trade, commerce, accounting, and
contracts. They became savvy businessmen and learned to
deal with Italian moneylenders and bankers. The English,
Belgians, Germans, and Dutch took their coal, timber,
wood, iron, copper, and lead to the south and came back
with luxury items such as wine and olive oil.

With the
advent of trade and commerce, feudal life declined. As
the tradesmen became wealthier, they resented having to
give their profits to their lords. Arrangements were made
for the townspeople to pay a fixed annual sum to the lord
or king and gain independence for their town as a
"borough" with the power to govern itself. The
marketplace became the focus of many towns.